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The effects of massage therapy to induce sleep in infants born preterm
Charlotte C Yates1, Anita J Mitchell, Melissa Y Booth
1Department of Physical Therapy (Drs Yates, Booth, and Lowe), University of Central Arkansas, Conway, Arkansas; Center for Translational Neuroscience (Drs Yates and Hall), University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Conway, Arkansas; College of Nursing (Dr Mitchell), Department of Biostatistics (Dr Williams), and Department of Pediatrics and Neonatology (Dr Hall), College of Medicine, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, Arkansas.
Purpose:
The aim of this study was to determine whether massage therapy can be used as an adjunct intervention to induce sleep in infants born preterm.
Methods:
Thirty infants born at a minimum of 28 weeks gestational age, who were at the time of the study between 32 and 48 weeks adjusted gestational age, were randomly assigned to receive massage therapy on 1 day and not receive massage on an alternate day. The Motionlogger Micro Sleep Watch Actigraph recorded lower extremity activity on the morning of each day.
Results:
No significant difference was found between groups for sleep efficiency (P = .13) during the time period evaluated. Groups differed significantly during the time period after the massage ended with more infants sleeping on the nonmassage day (χ = 4.9802, P = .026).
Conclusions:
Massage is well tolerated in infants born preterm and infants do not fall asleep faster after massage than without massage.
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